Offside (The Barker Triplets 1)
Billie’s cheeks burned as the auctioneer moved restlessly from side to side, cajoling the crowd…looking for that opening bid that was never going to come.
[i]Keep your head up and focus on anything other than this stupid auction.[i]
“What is wrong with you folks? This is a great opportunity for your child or your grandchild.”
“Or your husband,” someone quipped.
“Hell, maybe she’ll give a team discount,” Sabrina Fairfax threw in, her meaning more than clear as she stared at Billie from a few feet away, candy-red lips pulled back in a sneer.
Bobbi-Jo shoved her way forward, Gerald trailing behind, and yanked on Sabrina’s arm. “What the hell does that mean?”
Billie took a moment to appreciate the fear that rushed over Sabrina’s face. Her sister looked like an enraged Scarlett O’Hara, one who could have kicked the entire North’s asses back in the day. And even though Bobbi and Billie weren’t exactly on speaking terms, they were still family and if anything, the Barkers always stood up for each other. It was a sibling kind of love that not a lot of people understood.
Heck, Billie hardly did.
“Back off, Bobbi.”
“Are you going to make me?” Bobbi pushed the woman in the chest, eliciting several gasps from the immediate circle of women—all of them stepped back. Bobbi-Jo Barker may clean up nice but her reputation as a hell-raiser had never fully disappeared.
Billie wanted to die. Leave it to the Barkers to stir things up.
The auctioneer’s face was red now—it was obvious he wasn’t used to working this hard to sell something. Not at a charity.
This had become one hell of a shit show.
“One thousand dollars.”
Everything went quiet. Sabrina’s mouth hung open—not an attractive look—and Bobbi took a step back. The catcalls and snide comments ceased as everyone looked toward Billie.
The auctioneer was surprised, but it was quickly replaced with relief. He held his hands up—he knew it wasn’t going to get better than this—and shouted.
“Sold! To the man in black.”
Chapter Fifteen
“What in the hell was that all about?”
Billie was pissed. No, she was beyond pissed. She was furious. And emotional. And furious. And humiliated.
And pissed.
It was bad enough that no one else had bothered to bid on her offering, but to have Logan throw down an over-the-top bid l
ike that was just…ludicrous. It was…shit, what the hell had he been thinking?
He glared at her from a few feet away—every freaking six foot four inch of his gorgeous self.
“Okay, maybe I’m missing something here but I thought the idea of you volunteering your time and offering coaching sessions was to raise money for the support center.”
They were outside in the parking lot. Billie could hear the steady beat of the bass guitar and Ike’s vocals clear as day from inside. Her gut churned, just like it did before a big game, when her entire body was a big humming ball of energy. In a game it was good, but right here? Right now? She felt like she was going to puke.
She knew it was October—late October—but she was so hot. Hot and itchy— stupid damn feathers—and pissed.
She yanked on a hunk of hair that stuck to the back of her neck and the pins that Tracy had so painstakingly set went flying. Her perfectly arranged hair was no more.
“I know that’s the point but now everyone thinks we’re sleeping together!”
“Everyone thinks we’re sleeping together,” he repeated.